Armor
by BTR'slovesong
Summary: There's only so much hurt one can take before they start building those invisible walls, refusing to let anyone in. Logan's going through hard times and tries to deal with it himself. His friends will do anything to break down the walls he built.
1. The D Word

**A/N Hey everybody! So it's the middle of the night and I couldn't sleep, so I decided what better time to write. I opened up all my documents to decide which story I wanted to update when I realized: All of my stories are too complicated sometimes, especially for late night writing excursions. I have been craving some cute, innocent, Logie whump. I'm talking pent up emotions and sickness and bromance. What can be better than that? I hope you all love this **

**Takes place in Minnesota. The boys are 16, not too long before they moved to LA.**

**Enjoy!**

Brown fluffy hair that was short and spiky.

Big, innocent doe-like brown eyes that twinkled when the beholder laughed, and shone wet with heart-breaking tears when he was sad.

A navy-blue hoodie covering his skinny, small build that was probably two sizes too big and belonged to a best friend.

Pale fingers trembling around a half-empty soda can as he struggled to keep in his tears.

This described the lone figure sitting in the far corner of the cafeteria in a small high school located in the cold, gusty state of Minnesota. The shrill sounds of the school bell rang through the overly crowded room and as the dozens of teenagers filed out of the room in a hurry, it was no doubt that the lone figure was lost deep in thought, a crease lining his usually smooth forehead and tears brimming under his eyes, threatening to spill over and give him away of the emotions he had been hiding for several days now.

He normally didn't sit alone. Despite his tiny stature and the fact that he was, well, a nerd, he had three best friends on his hockey team, and most of the school actually liked him. He was quiet, sweet, and good-looking. There wasn't much _not_ to like. His reserved personality and quiet humor was refreshing and people loved him for it. But right now, he couldn't stand to be around any of his friends right now, in fears that he would burst into tears at any moment.

It had been three days since he had found out the news, not that he hadn't seen it coming. After all the countless nights he was forced awake all night to listen to their fighting. The spiteful, immature words they spat at each other and the way they both acted as if he was their property only and not the others… It was maddening. It was heartbreaking. And he knew the "D"-word had been a very long time coming. But still, it stung like a slap in the face when he heard it. The two adults hadn't even bothered telling him in a gentle manner. Logan found out the hard way when he had opened the front door after an exhausting day of school and hockey practices. His father pushed right past him as he opened the wooden door, nearly knocking him over, with an angry gleam in his eye. He looked at his son and, even though his features softened a bit at the sight of his only child, his voice still remained strong, booming, and even a bit scary as he yelled back into the house that "It was over, they were getting divorced." And that was it, the father left his confused and frightened young son alone on the front porch with the sounds of his mother sobbing in the house…

"Logan? Hey Logan, you with us buddy?"

Logan Mitchel blinked several times and pushed away the hand that was a blur of movement waving in front of him, making him dizzy. He looked up to see his best friends Carlos, James and Kendall staring at him as if he joined a loony bin.

"What, guys?" Logan asked. He didn't mean to sound so irritated, but he was in the midst of reflecting on the events of the past few days and really wanted to be left alone.

"Well, for starters, you weren't at our usual table eating lunch with us," Kendall said, pointing to their usual spot in the middle of the cafeteria where they always ate lunch. "You haven't touched a bite of food on your plate, and the bell rang four minutes ago and you're still just sitting here, staring at your soda can. So, what's up?"

Logan shook his head at his blonde best friend and stood up, grabbing his back pack off the floor and swinging the heavy bag onto his shoulders. "We better get to class, we're late."

Logan gulped when the trio blocked his way and looked at each other skeptically, then turned back to face him with eyebrows raised. He sighed with relief when Kendall agreed with Logan and told James and Carlos to hurry up and head to class. However, Kendall stayed a few steps behind the other two boys with Logan and swung his arm around the small brunet's shoulders.

"Are you okay, Logan? You have been so quiet this week and you've never blown us off for lunch before. Your eyes look kind of red. I just want to make sure you haven't been crying or anything like that…"

"No, I'm fine Kendall," Logan assured him, flashing him a brief, fake smile. Inside he was kicking himself. Of course, his eyes always gave him away. Whenever he would so much as tear up a little, they would get puffy underneath and red-rimmed, like a little kids would.

"You'd tell us if something was up, right?" Kendall asked, his tone of voice a bit stern. He learned a long time ago that he had to be a bit more persuasive with Logan then he had to be with the others. Carlos and James were like open books and sometimes could be a little bit too dramatic. They had no problem with unleashing their emotions on Kendall. But Logan was a different story. He was shy and had a habit of hiding everything, even though he had no reason to distrust his friends. They never took offense to this. They all understood that Logan was a lot more guarded than the rest of them and accepted it. But Kendall always rose to the challenge to break the armor Logan put around his heart.

"Of course," Logan said easily. He felt like he was lying to Kendall, but he just couldn't find the courage to open up about what had been happening in his home life.

That afternoon was more hockey practice for a big game that was coming up soon. Logan hadn't said a word since his exchange with Kendall at lunch, and was now channeling all of his anger while practicing his swing shots. He brought his hockey stick back and swung with all of his force when he thought of his dad leaving that day after making his mom cry. When it hit the puck with a loud crack and sailed towards the net, he thought of the way his mom had been all but ignoring him to spend all day at her real estate office to escape her reality these past few weeks. In the midst of all fighting, she had seemed to forget that she still had a son who needed her, and only talked to him to get on his case about his grades if they weren't all perfect A's.

"Yo James, I think Logan's scaring me," Carlos commented as he skated towards his tall, brunet friend, who was combing his hair with his lucky comb even though he was about to put on his hockey helmet anyway. "The poor goalie, he can't even keep up with his shots. If he plays like this at the big game, we'll definitely win."

"Kendall said he's hiding something and I think he's right," James said, securely fastening his helmet to protect "The Face."

"I say we have a little talk with Logan tonight after practice," Kendall said as he tied his laces. "Something's wrong. I think he was crying earlier, guys."

"Logan was crying?" Carlos asked sadly, looking over to his smart friend, who continued to shoot puck after puck at the goalie, who looked like he was ready to just give up. He hated to think that Logan had been crying, especially all alone with nobody to cheer him up.

Halfway through practice, Logan was beginning to feel worn-out. He blamed it on over-exerting himself during his swing-shots. Kendall, who was the team captain, shouted a command to Logan, but he hardly even registered it. He just wiped at his dripping nose distractedly right when a hard, heavy body smacked into his shoulder and sent him to the cold ice.

"Agghh," Logan groaned out in pain, holding his shoulder as white-hot pain coursed through it.

"Logan! Are you alright?" James asked, skating over to him quickly and setting his head in his lap, immediately looking for a concussion even though he wasn't really checked that hard and he had a helmet on.

"Y-yeah," he said dazedly. Maybe he had hit his head a little bit…

"Logan, I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" The larger boy who checked him asked. Logan waved him off.

"I'm fine guys," he said, a bit annoyed as he tried to sit up on his own. He felt a little dizzy though.

Kendall and Carlos skated across the rink and were at his side now, assessing his injuries, as well as the coach. Logan blushed with all this attention going on. It made him feel awkward.

"Guys seriously, the worst I have is a bruised shoulder," Logan said. "I don't have a concussion or broken bones. He didn't even hit me that hard. Can we just continue?"

"No Logan," the coach said. "I think we've had enough practice for today, you're looking a bit pale. Hit the showers boys. Logan, rest up, we need you for the big game, got it?"

"Yes coach," Logan said, his cheeks burning red. He couldn't help but feel ashamed. If he had just been paying attention to Kendall…

James and Carlos heaved Logan to his feet. They took off their skating gear and untied their skates, which Logan felt a bit grateful for. He was feeling pretty tired out and wanted to go home and lie down for a bit.

"Hey, how about we all play 'Attack of Pumpkin Face; Rise of The Squashes' at my house" Kendall offered, winking at James and Carlos. Even though playing video games at Kendall's house after school was a normal, today it was a ploy to get Logan to open up.

"Nah guys, I think I'm gonna head home," Logan said, scratching the back of his neck while ignoring their fallen looks. "Mom needs me there for something, I don't really know…" Logan began gathering his things. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You aren't going to ride the bus?" James asked. Logan shook his head. He wouldn't be able to hold in his tears for an hour-long bus ride, and besides that, he felt like he was going to fall asleep at any moment.

"Are you sure? It's cold out," Kendall said, concerned. It was mid-November and temperatures were falling. Usually starting late-October the boys were forced to take the bus home no matter how uncomfortable, loud or stifling it was.

"Yeah, it's good, man. It's not too cold out. I gotta hurry," Logan lied. He gave Carlos a fist bumped and quickly headed out of the school, leaving his friends dumbfounded.

It was quite cold walking home from school. It was a twenty minute walk and Logan's nose was freezing and dripping by the time he arrived home. His bones were sore, he shivered a bit, and he could feel the start of a headache coming on.

"_Lovely,"_ Logan thought to himself as he walked into the warmth of his house and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took off his coat and shoes and let his bags fall off his shoulder and to the floor before trudging up the brown carpeted stairs to his small bedroom, where he collapsed onto his quilt-covered bed. The tears Logan had been holding in all day were finally free to escape his weary eyes, and he cried in a curled-up heap like this until he fell asleep.

**A/N So what do you think so far? Get ready for some siccy Logan and bromance coming up next Please review! It makes me feel happy. I like to be happy.**


	2. Desperate

**A/N Guys thanks so much for the reviews so far! I want to hug all of you. It means sooo much. I know summer is busy so it means a lot that you still review with a busy schedule! So here's some more Logan whump!**

It was mid-evening, around 7:30. While Kendall, James and Carlos were all at the Knight's residence, making paper airplanes, blasting music, playing video games, and causing the usual ruckus to make Mrs. Knight cringe and want to move away, Logan was alone at his own home, huddled under his red and blue quilt. The temperatures outside were dropping, and he shivered beneath his covers. His house felt cold and quiet without his mother and father around. It had felt like that for the past few weeks, to be honest. Even before they made the separation final, Logan could tell his parents had lost their spark. They had gone from such a tight-knit family to complete strangers, and it left behind an empty feeling between what used to be such loving walls. It was like all the warmth was sucked out of his home now that his parents didn't love each other anymore.

A groan escaped Logan's lips as he massaged his temples groggily. He had been sleeping so soundly all afternoon, but a pounding headache rudely awoke him. Despite his nap, he still felt tired, but he knew it would be impossible to fall back to sleep now. However, he stayed in bed and clutched his quilt to his chest. It's not like he had anything else to do or anywhere to be, and it was too cold to get out of bed.

"Logan? Logan honey, are you home?"

"Yeah mom, I'm up here!" Logan called when he heard his mother calling for him. He cleared his throat because his voice sounded a bit raspy. He hoped a sore throat wasn't coming on soon, ever since he was little he always got the most brutal sore throats accompanied with high fevers.

The sound of high heels clacking against hardwood floors could be heard as his mother made her way down the hall to see her son. The door creaked open and she peered in worriedly at her pale son who looked particularly tiny beneath his heavy quilt.

"Logan, what are you doing up here honey?" Joanna asked, sitting on the edge of his twin sized, blonde oak trundle bed. "It's past dinnertime. You were so quiet I figured you were at Kendall's house, but when I called Jennifer said you weren't there. Are you ok?"

Logan nodded as his mom brushed his bangs from his face. "I'm fine. I just had a long hockey practice and took a little nap."

"Oh, well did you at least get your homework done before you lied down? I know you have an important science test coming up soon…"

"Yes, mom," Logan said, rolling his eyes. He wondered if she actually cared about anything else but his grades sometimes. He realized that not once through this whole ordeal had his mom sat him down and just talked to him about the separation. He hadn't spoke to his father since he left and his mother just ignored the subject as if she was never even married. She couldn't even tell that Logan was being so torn apart from the inside because of the divorce that it was actually making him physically ill.

"Well I made you some dinner, it's on the stove, ok?" Joanna said. "Make yourself a plate and when you're done try and pick up your bedroom a bit, it looks like you've been kind of letting it go for a while."

"I'm not too hungry, mom," Logan said, rubbing his stomach. He didn't really have an actual stomachache, but his appetite was gone and he felt a little bit queasy. "I'm really tired. Can you put it away for later?"

"Well you can't just starve yourself, Logan," Joanna said. "You have been really quiet and sullen lately, honey. I'm worried you're going to become, I don't know what you guys call it, emo?"

Logan's stomach dropped. He felt hurt and annoyed. Was his mother really that dense? He decided to just ignore her question and bite his tongue, because he just wanted to scream at her. Instead he just closed his eyes, nuzzling back into his pillow. "Can you please just wake me up in the morning?"

"I won't be here in the morning, Logie Bear. You'll have to set your alarm."

Logan sat up in surprise. "What? Where are you going, mom?"

"I got a deal earlier this afternoon to spend some time in Wisconsin showing houses. It's a pretty hefty paycheck so I took up the offer even though it was kind of last minute."

Logan had a sour feeling in his stomach at the thought of being alone in this big house while being sick and emotionally distraught. He suddenly felt like a clingy little kid again.

"No, mom please don't leave-"

"It's only for a few days, Logan," Joanna said gently. She was taken aback by the way her son clasped onto her arm, and she thought she even detected a few tears in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away.

"Logan, I have to go to work," Joanna explained. Logan shook his head.

"No, you don't mama. You don't need to take this job, there are plenty of others right here in Minnesota! Please don't leave like dad did, please!"

"Logie, sweetheart calm down. My goodness if I had known you were going to freak out like this, I wouldn't have taken the job. But it's too late now, baby. I have to go. I leave at 4 AM."

Logan pouted and buried his face in his pillow, restraining the tears that threatened to stream down his cheeks. He felt his mom rubbing her fingertips against his spine and he melted into the touch. He just wanted his mom to stay with him.

"I don't know what's wrong, Logan. You've never acted like this before over me leaving… This isn't the first out of state job I have taken. You'll be fine, I promise honey."

"I'm sick mom," Logan mumbled. He didn't want to tell his mom he wasn't feeling well, but if it was the only thing that would keep her home, he would use it.

The comforting motion on his back ceased. Joanna rolled her little boy onto his side and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, which was cool to the touch.

"Logan, you aren't even running a fever… Come here, look into mama's eyes…"

Logan sighed and looked at his mother like he was told, her fingertips holding his quivering chin up.

"Baby, does this sickness have anything to do with me and your father?"

"What? No, I really don't feel good mom!" Logan protested almost angrily.

"Logan, do not raise your voice with me young man," Joanna warned. She was not used to Logan acting up like this. He was usually so soft spoken and mature.

Logan lowered his voice, but did not give up the argument. "You finally, for the first time in months, bring up you and dad's divorce after running away from the subject like a coward, and it's only because you think I'm lying about being sick? Unbelievable, mom. Fine, go. See what I care."

Joanna was shocked as she watched her usually even-tempered child slam his head into the pillow and openly start crying. She began to run his back again. Logan wanted to shrug her away out of spite, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He prayed silently that she would agree to stay, even if she didn't believe he was sick.

"I'm really sorry, Logan. I didn't know you weren't feeling well. I'm sure if you get some sleep tonight you will be just fine in the morning, ok?" Joanna said to Logan's dismay.

"But my stomach hurts, mom," Logan said, deciding to try once again. He was getting desperate.

"You'll feel better by morning," Joanna said again, leaning over to kiss Logan's forehead. "You're a big boy, you can take care of yourself for a couple of days, right?"

Logan didn't answer his mom. He sniffled and burrowed deeper under his covers.

"And you know I can't let you get away with the way you just talked to me. You're grounded until I get back, understand? Mrs. Knight will see to it that you come straight home from school every day this week."

Again, Logan stayed silent. Finally, Joanna sighed and said "good night." The weight on the site of his bed was relieved and his light was turned off so he was encased in darkness. The door closed behind his mom and Logan couldn't help but let a sob escape. All he needed was his mom and dad again…

**A/N That actually made me kinda sad lol. I love Logie angst and he's so cute when he's sick. Lot's more to come! Sorry there wasn't any bromance, I really wanted to write something between him and his mother. There will be plenty in the next few chaps I promise! I hope you all like this and please review :') And if you want, follow me on twitter, I follow back! channy_girl20 is meh name!**

**PS I first put this chapter up and got Logan's mother's name wrong! Omg! So thank you soo much CelestialSonata7 for telling me :D**


	3. A No Good, Terrible Mean Day

**A/N Thanks everyone for all of the awesome reviews, yay! Sorry for the wait on this chapter!**

By the time morning came, Logan was sure that his mother had lied to him. Because he did _not_ feel better, even though she said he would. To say he was tired would be an understatement. All night he was up tossing and turning after several nightmares plagued his slumber. Logan was ashamed to admit it, but he had been terrified last night. He was used to having his strong father in the room down the hall just in case he needed him. But last night he was all alone, with nobody to protect him, so his mind kept playing mean tricks on him. First, he thought there were intruders sneaking into the house. Then, he was sure there was something lurking in his closet, but he wouldn't dare think of telling his friends that. It was too embarrassing. He was 16 years old. What 16 year old dude believed in the boogeyman? It was ridiculous.

But besides being tired, Logan felt weak and overall icky. He was cold and his stomach felt queasy. His chest seemed to be filled with gross junk and every time he coughed, his throat would protest with a feeling like knives scratching his tonsils.

With a groan, Logan rolled out of bed. He shivered when his bare feet hit the cold wood floor. His head felt a bit dizzy, so he stood still for a moment to catch his bearings with a hand pressed to his temple.

The house was too quiet and cold. Despite the way he felt, Logan just wanted to get out of there and go to school. Something about being home alone made his skin crawl. So he quickly started a hot shower, stripped off his clothes, and let the hot water soak into his skin and the steam loose up his chest a bit. Halfway through the shower, Logan started coughing hard. His chest contracted painfully and his throat screamed in pain. By the time he was finished hacking, his cheeks were red, his chest heaved for breaths, and hot tears pricked at his eyes.

_Bronchitis, _Logan thought spitefully. He rubbed his sore chest and frowned in pain. He could tell the symptoms of a chest infection were starting. Soon, he would run a temperature and need antibiotics.

It was lovely, just what he needed! Right when his parents decide to hate each other, leave the house, and act as if they didn't even have a child anymore, his body _would_ betray him and get ill. As if he didn't have enough to deal with as it was, he had to get sick on top of all of it. The young boy couldn't help but think that it just wasn't fair.

Logan turned off the shower water angrily and slammed the bathroom door. He stomped to his room and pulled random clothes out of his dresser, letting them fall splayed out on the floor until he found a warm enough outfit for the day. Finally, he saw a blue and gray striped fleece hoodie and his favorite pair of comfy jeans. Logan dressed in these, grabbed his book bag, and stomped downstairs.

He didn't really know why he was having a fit like this, and who he was doing it for. It's not like anyone was around to see him so unhappy. He wished his parents would walk in and see him slamming door and stomping around. He would get in trouble for sure, but maybe then they would realize he was upset and actually _do_ something about their son's unhappiness.

Suddenly, something loud honked outside the living room window. Logan ran to peer out the glass to see the school bus waiting for him.

"_Crap,"_ Logan swore under his breath. He must have overslept. The brunet stumbled a bit putting his shoes on as fast as he could. He ran out the front door but it was too late, the bus could be seen driving down his neighborhood street without him.

"Wait for me!" Logan cried, running down the drive after his bus, but he was out of breath by the time he reached the sidewalk. He put his hands on his knees and started coughing. His nose dripped and he caught it with his sleeve.

It was only 7:30 AM and it was already turning out to be a no-good, terrible mean day.

Logan huffed sadly and trudged to school. The strong gusts of wind pushed against his small and feeble body, willing him to go home and lay down in his bed. But he did not care to be home alone, especially while sick. He wanted his friends. To be honest, Logan kind of needed their presence now.

By the time he arrived at school though, Logan was not in a good mood. His cheeks, nose and fingers felt like frozen icicles and his cough was nagging and persistent. His feet were cold and aching, he was late too school (and forgot his science homework, but it was much too late to turn back home and get it by the time he realized he forgot it) and his head was hurting, too. So when he saw his friends who he was so eager to see that morning, he immediately went into a foul mood and acted annoyed and frustrated by everything they said to him throughout the whole day.

"Logie! Why are you so late! Mrs. Krunk is going to kill you!" Carlos said as Logan tried to sneak into his classroom unnoticed by his strict science teacher.

"_Carlos_!" Logan groaned. He had almost made it to his chair. Mrs. Krunk had been busy with her back turned to the class. But when Carlos had accidently ratted Logan out, she spun around quickly, eyeing Logan disapprovingly.

"Logan Mitchel! You're nearly 20 minutes late. You know tardiness is not tolerated in my class," Mrs. Krunk scolded.

"I know, I'm so sorry Mrs. Krunk, I missed the bus."

"I don't take excuses but since this is the first time, do not let it happen again Logan. Please hand in your homework and take your seat."

Logan just stood there dumbfounded, twiddling the straps of his backpacks. His cheeks burned red and he squeaked nervously a couple of times, as if he wanted to say something but was too scared to. A couple of classmates snickered at Logan. Kendall, James and Carlos stared at their small friend like he was insane.

"Dude, what's up?" Kendall asked, pushing him forwards, towards Mrs. Krunk's desk. Logan shot him a dirty glare and swallowed, trying to ignore his teachers displeased, expectant stare.

"Um, I forgot my homework Mrs. Krunk," Logan said. He cringed his eyes in fear. How could a young woman in her early 30's seem so intimidating? It's not like she was evil. She was just very strict when it came to classroom etiquette.

"Logan, I'm going to have to-Logan, will you open your eyes please?"

Logan opened his eyes a little, so they were just little slits and his teacher was only a blur. Mrs. Krunk sighed and continued.

"Logan, you're usually such a good student so I'm going to let it slide this time. I'll have to mark you down a grade for late homework though but I'll give you some extra credit work after class to pick your grade back up."

"Ok, thanks Mrs. Krunk," Logan said. He hurried to his desk, ignoring his friends, and put his head in his hands as Mrs. Krunk started to lecture the class on whatever lesson she had planned for the day.

Usually, Logan was so interested in science. But today, he kept his head down and his hands fisted tightly in his hair. Carlos and James poked him a lot, begging him to tell them what was wrong. He was getting extremely agitated. Being poked when feeling sick was not pleasant.

"Guys, will you quit poking me already?" Logan growled under his breath. "I'm fine!"

"You don't look fine," James pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Maybe you guys should leave him alone," Kendall advised. Logan could feel Kendall's worried eyes burning into the back of his skull and he knew he was going to be forced to talk about his "feelings" and all that junk the blonde "big brother" liked to talk about after class.

It's not like Logan didn't appreciate Kendall's good natured caring and advice. But he did not want to be bombarded with over-protective questions after class.

"But he looks all pale and stuff," Carlos commented, poking Logan in the ribs one more time. Logan felt a rush of anger go through him and he snapped around in his seat, swatting Carlos' hand away roughly.

"Carlos! Stop it!" Logan yelled out.

Suddenly, the classroom went silent and all eyes were on Logan, who flushed deep red and sunk down into his seat. His heart raced as Mrs. Krunk walked over to his desk and crossed her arms.

"Logan, three strikes and you're out," she said sternly. "You need to visit the principal's office now."

Logan frowned. He was too tired to argue. He just grabbed his bag and scowled at Carlos.

"Thanks a lot, Carlos," Logan spat at his friend. The Latino guiltily hung his head, avoiding eye contact with Logan.

Embarrassed, Logan took the walk of shame through the class room and went to the principal's office. Luckily, he and the principal were on good terms because he was such an awesome student, but he still received a lecture from the middle aged man.

After the visit to the principal's office and a 30 minute tedious, pointless lecture about interrupting a class, Logan's head felt heavy and was pounding harder than ever. And the headache only progressively got worse as school went on.

By hockey practice time, Logan decided it was one of the longest and worst days he'd ever experience. His friends were getting really annoying. They kept pestering him with questions, asking if he felt ok and stuff. It was all Logan could do to keep himself from snapping because he really _didn't_ feel good. But if his own parents didn't seem to care if he was sick or not, why would his friends care? It was no big deal if he was feeling sick. He would get over it soon and be perfectly fine for the big hockey game tomorrow.

"Hey Logie, will you play Pumpkinface with us today?" Carlos asked as he skated in circles around Logan on the ice. They were waiting in line to practice their slapshots and Logan was focusing mainly on staying upright. Carlos' dizzying skating pattern was not helping his equilibrium any.

"Probably not," Logan answered quietly. "I have homework."

"Boooo," Carlos said.

"We can't play it anyway," Kendall put in as he watched James practice his slapshots. "I have to watch Katie in some play tonight."

"Awe," Carlos said, jutting out his lower lip. He stopped skating and stared at Logan, making sure the smart boy saw his pout.

"What, Carlos?" Logan sighed. He rubbed his temples absentmindedly because of his obnoxious headache and slight wooziness.

"You should come over to my house tonight and watch movies with me!" Carlos said, his pout turning into a huge, pleading grin.

"I don't know," Logan said. He cleared his throat and winced. His throat was really bothering him, especially in the freezing air of the hockey rink.

"Please, Logan? It will be fun and I don't want to be lonely tonight!" Carlos said innocently. Logan bit his lip. He didn't want to be lonely that night, either. Nobody was waiting for him at home. Even though school had been rough on him and all he wanted to do was go to sleep, Logan was not looking forward to going home alone that evening. Maybe spending some time with Carlos could pick him up a bit. Who could be sad when Carlos was around?

"Ok, we can hang tonight," Logan said, giving his friend who was cheering happily a small smile.

"You're up, Logan!" Coach said. Logan groaned. He didn't want to move. But he grabbed his stick and skated up to the line of pucks. The goalie gave him a somewhat frightened look behind his mask. Logan smiled apologetically. The goalie cringed, bracing himself for impact. But unlike the other day, Logan's slapshots were, well, _weak_. The goalie easily blocked them this time. Coach scowled at Logan.

"Mitchell! What happened to you, kid? You did so good last night and now you can barely hit the net!" Coach yelled.

"Sorry," Logan mumbled. He couldn't really think up an excuse for his lousy slapshots. The coach waved him on to make way for another player and Logan skated away sadly, avoiding his friends' worried looks.

Logan felt like he was moving through jello all through practice. His gear felt 100 pounds heavier than normal and he was out of breath and weak. Kendall was watching him like a hawk, but Logan ignored it and pretended like he was perfectly fine even though it was easy to tell he wasn't.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Kendall asked again after practice was over. Logan sighed, unlacing his skates with trembly fingers.

"Kendall, I am fine," Logan insisted.

"You were moving kind of slow tonight, dude," James said. Suddenly, the pretty boy's hand was making its way to Logan's forehead. Logan saw this and dodged it, swiping his hand away in panic. He was sure he had a fever, and if James felt his forehead, his sickness would be found out.

"James," Logan whined.

"You look feverish and gross!" James said. Logan rolled his eyes.

"I don't have a fever, dude. Nothing's wrong."

"Well, you'd tell us if something was bugging you, right? You've been acting pretty weird all week," Kendall said. "We're just worried about you."

Logan scoffed and shrugged, grabbing his skates and backpack. "Well don't…. I'm not worth worrying about," Logan mumbled as he walked past his stunned friends.

"Hey, Logan what does that mean?" Kendall asked, raising his hands questioningly. James shared a confused glance with Kendall while Carlos ran to catch up with Logan.

"Are you still coming over to my house?"

"Yeah, let's go," Logan said.

"You didn't answer Kendall's question, Logie. Would you tell us if something was making you feel bad?"

"Yeah," Logan said.

"I can tell you're lying," Carlos pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Carlos, I'm fine, ok? It's not like anyone cares, anyone so just leave me alone about it."

"Oh," Carlos said. He wanted to find out what Logan meant by that, but the brunet seemed agitated and he didn't want him to snap again. So instead he just wrapped a comforting arm around Logan's shoulder and squeezed him. Logan smiled, but Carlos could see the hurt deep in his dark brown eyes. Something was definitely wrong with Logan.

**A/N Hope you liked it! I think there might be some cute Cargany bromance moments ahead! Thanks for reading, and reviews are shiny sparkly things! xoxo**


	4. Carlos' House

**A/N Oh hi look it's this story**

Despite the fact he was feeling like crap, Logan sure was walking fast. Carlos' shorter legs struggled to keep up with the boy as he silently marched through a thin layer of snow to Carlos' house. A mild, early winter storm had passed through while the boys were at school. Now, the temperatures were very chilly, the sky was a pale gray, and the wind blew through their warm over clothes, nipping at their skin.

"Maybe mami will make us hot chocolate when she gets home!" Carlos said, trying to cheer Logan up. He folded his arms and rubbed them briskly to keep warmer.

"No, Carlos, your mom can't know I'm at your house!" Logan said, stopping in his tracks to stare Carlos down. The Latino fidgeted uncomfortably, the snow crunching beneath his light-up sneakers. He wasn't good at lying, especially to his own mami!

"How come?" He wondered.

"Because, I'm supposed to be grounded. Mom said she was going to tell Mrs. Knight, so that means if any of the moms know I didn't go straight home, I'll get into trouble." Logan hated the thought of his mother calling him up on the phone just to scold him.

"You're grounded? But you never get grounded!" Carlos said, amazed. Logan was such a perfect kid. His parents never even yelled at him. "Gosh Logan, what did you do?"

"I talked back to mom," Logan said quietly. He felt kind of guilty about it but at the same time, he felt his mother deserved it. He hated playing the role of the perfect golden child, never opening his mouth to an adult to express his feelings. It was stifling and frustrating and to be honest, it felt good to be snippy at his mom. He wished she would listen to him, though.

"Wow," Carlos said. "Well, maybe you should go home then? I don't want you to get in trouble."

"No!" Logan said, shaking his head. Carlos eyes widened at the panic on Logan's face.

"Oh, ok, it's ok you can stay," Carlos told him, wondering why Logan was acting this way. "I can hide you. Mami and Papi won't be home for a couple of hours. I'll hide you in my room and make hot chocolate myself for you."

"Thanks," Logan said simply. Carlos shrugged and they continued their walk to his house.

"What if your mom finds you missing?" Carlos asked.

"She won't," Logan said, and Carlos detected a hint of bitterness in his tone.

"How can she not? She's your mommy. Moms know everything. It's creepy."

"Mom and dad aren't here," Logan told him.

"Wait, really? Both of them are out of town? For how long?" Carlos began to ramble. Logan puffed out an annoyed breath of air. "They never leave you here home all alone! Maybe they think you're growing up. This could be a good thing! You can have parties at your house and-"

"Carlos, it's not a good thing, and I'm not having a party in my house," Logan said with a sigh, cutting Carlos' excitement off. He wished they would just get to Carlos' house already, he was tired of walking and talking. His throat was hurting pretty bad.

"Where did your dad go, though?" Carlos asked. He knew Logan's mother went out of town a lot for business, but his dad always stayed home with him while she was gone.

"I don't know," Logan said sadly. "I don't really want to talk about it anymore." Carlos raised his dark, bushy eyebrows. Logan was acting so strange. But if he didn't want to talk about it, Carlos decided it would be best to change the subject and try to cheer him up some, even though he wanted to know what was bothering his buddy.

"Well, we'll have fun over at my house tonight! We can do whatever you want to do. We don't even have to play Pumpkinface. We can watch a movie or play one of those boring board games you like, like um, 'Stat-uh-go.'"

"It's called '_Stratego,'_ Carlos. And maybe we'll just watch movies. I'm kind of tired."

"Me too," Carlos said, though he wasn't really tired. The duo finally arrived at Carlos' house. The Latino ran into the warm home full force, straight to the kitchen, tracking snow all over the wood floors.

"I'm so hungry! Logie, do you want popcorn?" Carlos asked.

'No thanks," Logan said as he removed his boots at the doorway to avoid getting snow all over Mrs. Garcia's house. "I'm not hungry."

"Oh, ok," Carlos said. Even though Logan ate the least amount out of all the boys, he was still a teenager and ate an insane amount of food, especially after a hockey practice, so this worried Carlos.

After the microwave beeped, the boys bounded upstairs to Carlos' room, where they started up a movie. Logan pulled out his homework. Carlos rolled his eyes.

"Dude, it's guys night! Just me and you. You're going to waste it doing homework? It's Friday! It's the freakin' weekend! We should be partying!"

Logan tried to ignore Carlos as his voice grew louder. His head was pounding.

"I always get my homework done on Friday, Carlos. You should too."

"No thanks," Carlos said, wrinkling his nose. He fell into his favorite beanbag chair and wiggled his butt to get comfortable. Logan had his nose in a book, and only two minutes had gone by before Carlos realized this wasn't very fun.

"Logie, I want to play in the snow."

"There's barely like half an inch out there," Logan said, not looking up from his book.

"Yeah," Carlos said, realizing he couldn't build a snowman with that much snow. He instead flipped onto his stomach and rested his chin on his hands, watching Logan read his book. The brunet's face was scrunched up in concentration. His nose was dripping clear fluid and he kept sniffling. Once in a while, he would rub his fingers against his temple and groan. Logan looked kind of gross. Carlos wanted to ask him about it, but he didn't want Logan to snap at him or anything. He seemed to be getting pretty annoyed, but Logan was kind of too easy to annoy in Carlos' opinion.

To Carlos' surprise though, Logan set down his book with a groan and folded his arms against his chest.

"You're done already?"

"Oh, yeah," Logan said slowly. He hadn't known Carlos was watching him. He had stopped reading because his mind was foggy, and reading only made his headache worse. "I haven't seen this movie in a while and wanted to watch it."

"Cool," Carlos said, happy to have someone watch the movie with finally. "Hey, do you want me to make that hot chocolate now?"

"Not really," Logan said, his stomach giving an upset gurgle. Carlos watched him rubbing his stomach absentmindedly, his face scrunched up uncomfortably.

"Does your stomach hurt or something?" Carlos asked bluntly. Logan froze, removing his hand from his abdomen at once.

"No, no I'm fine Carlitos."

Carlos looked like he was about to protest, but his phone suddenly buzzed. He checked his text, looking a bit worried. "It's my mom, she said she'll be home in 5 minutes, Logan… Do you think you should leave, or should I hide you?"

"Hide me, please. I don't wanna go home," Logan said. Carlos nodded and pulled Logan out of his beanbag chair by the arm and shoved him in a closet.

"Carlos! What are you doing!" Logan cried, swatting Carlos' hanging clothes from his vision.

"I'm hiding you! I have to go give Mami hugs and kisses and eat dinner with her and I'll be back in like thirty minutes. Just stay here and be quiet."

Logan folded his arms and sat on the tiny closet floor, squishing his knees to his chest. "Fine. But don't blow this, Carlos. Please keep it a secret. Your mom can't find out."

"I promise, Logie!" Carlos said. He shut the door, leaving Logan alone in the quiet, stuffy darkness of the closet. He felt kind of awkward squished in there, but not two seconds later, Carlos reopened the door and knelt down. Logan looked at him questioningly.

"Oh, and you're sure alright?" Carlos asked seriously. Logan gave him a half smile and nodded.

"I'm ok, 'Litos. Go eat dinner."

Carlos seemed hesitant to leave Logan again, but finally got up, patted Logan's knee, and closed the door again. Logan sighed and put his face in his knees. Maybe now would be a good time to take a nap…

What felt like only minutes later, Logan felt something cool and soft against his forehead. He moaned and blinked his eyes open to find Carlos sitting in front of him, the back of his hand pressed against his head.

"Logan… You're warm," Carlos said softly, brown eyes shining with concern.

"Hmm? I'm kinda cold…" Logan muttered. He was actually shivering, even though Carlos' entire wardrobe was practically piled on top of him. "D-did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, you've been asleep for hours, dude," Carlos told him. He was speaking softly, as if he was aware that Logan's head was pounding.

"Oh, what time is it?" Logan rubbed his groggy eyes and sniffed. His nose was so stuffed up with gunk he could hardly breathe.

"It's 11 o' clock," Carlos said. "I didn't want to wake you, so I let you sleep, but you were just making some weird moaning sounds so I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," Logan assured Carlos, patting his helmet affectionately.

"Ok, well, it's really late so do you want to just spend the night?" Carlos asked him, hoping he would say yes. It was really cold and too dangerous to walk home at such a late hour.

"Um…" Logan started. It was very tempting to stay in Carlos' warm bedroom, where he had a best friend to keep him company, but he didn't want to get caught by Mrs. Garcia and get in even more trouble. "I don't know, Carlitos. I really should get home."

"But it's almost midnight," Carlos said.

Logan waved him off and stuck his hand out for help getting to his feet. Carlos took his clammy hand in his and pulled him up. Logan wavered at a sudden head rush.

"Whoa, you okay?" Carlos asked him. Logan rubbed his hot forehead and nodded.

"M'fine, 'Litos…" Logan really wished he would stop asking that.

"I really don't think you should walk home," Carlos said, finally expressing his concern. Logan was obviously sick and upset, and he had no choice but to step up and play big brother, which was something that he had never actually done before. He tried to think in his mind what Kendall would do in this situation.

"I have to though," Logan said sadly, grabbing his jacket off of the floor and zipping it up to his chin. "I'll get in big trouble and honestly I don't want to talk to my home right now." Suddenly, Logan coughed, practically doubling over from the force of it all. Carlos put his hand on Logan's back and patted it gently.

"No, Logan. I'll make sure you stay hidden. But it's really late and you look like you're getting sick or something, so just stay here with me so I can look over you."

Logan narrowed his eyes, somehow feeling bitter because of Carlos' statement. He was overly protective of his emotions after what his parents did. "I don't _need_ to be looked after, Carlos."

Logan started to make his way over to the window to escape without being noticed. He would climb down the terrace like he always did whenever Carlos was not allowed to have friends over.

"I'll tell them," Carlos threatened. Logan turned around, looking pretty pitiful. He wiped his nose and glowered at Carlos. The Latino wanted nothing more than to scoop Logan up in his arms, but he had to be tough on him first.

"You _wouldn't._"

"Oh I would, I'll go down and tell them right now that you're here," Carlos told him. Logan glanced at the window and then back at Carlos, wondering if he had enough strength to make a break for it.

"Carlos…"

"Come on, just stay with me, please?" Carlos said, pulling out the big puppy dog eyes and batting his eyelashes. His cheeks puffed out into the most pathetic pout imaginable.

"… 'Kay," Logan agreed grudgingly. Carlos broke out into the biggest grin ever and bounded over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of pajamas with safari animals printed all over them.

"Here, you can wear my jammies!" He said, tossing the pajamas to Logan, who caught them, his pale lips forming a small smile.

The two friends changed into pajamas and Carlos leapt into bed. He patted the empty spot next to him and grinned. "Come on in, Logie!"

"I'm not sleeping with you dude. I'm 16," Logan said.

"Well you're not sleeping on the floor," Carlos said in his rarely used stubborn voice again.

Logan crossed his arms and went over to Carlos' bed. He was too tired to argue. He laid down as close to the edge as he could get. Carlos tucked him in, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and brought him in close.

"Umph- Carlos?" Logan said. Carlos smiled and rested his head on Logan's shoulder.

"Night-night, Logan!"

"Good night, Carlos," Logan whispered. He snuggled into Carlos' bed, which was actually quite comfy, but the moment he closed his eyes, the coughing fits started. It began with a few wheezy coughs here and there, but quickly developed into deep, wet coughs that shook his entire body. Carlos was already half asleep, but he forced his eyes open and stared at his friend worriedly.

"Logan, are you alright?"

"Mmhmm," Logan murmured between coughs. He scrunched his eyes shut and buried his face in Carlos' pillow, trying to get comfy. Carlos sat up, unsure of what to do. Half of him wanted to go tell his mom and dad and Logan would just get over the consequences, but he didn't want Logan to hate him for forever, either.

"Carlos! Honey, are you alright in there?" Mrs. Garcia yelled out when she heard Logan's harsh coughing.

Carlos gasped. Underneath his door, he could see the hall light flick on and hear footsteps pad down the hall.

"My mom is coming," Carlos whispered. He shoved Logan off of his bed so he fell to the other side with a thud, but at least he was hidden from view right as his mom opened the door.

"Honey! What's wrong?" Mrs. Garcia asked, rushing over to Carlos in the dark and placing her hand on his forehead.

"Nothing mami, I just had something stuck in my throat," Carlos said, clearing his throat for emphasis.

"Oh, okay… Wake me up if you're feeling, bad?" Mrs. Garcia said. Carlos nodded. She kissed his cheek and left the room. Meanwhile, Logan was laying on the floor, stifling his coughs until it was painful.

"Ok, she's gone," Carlos whispered when his mother shut the door. Logan crawled back into bed and scowled at Carlos.

"You didn't have to knock me off the best, stupid head," Logan said, rubbing his throat. It was really hurting because of all of the coughing.

"Don't call me a stupid head, I saved your butt!" Carlos said, pointing a finger at Logan.

Logan just gave him a look. He couldn't really say anything, 'cause Carlos was right.

"Logan, are you sure you're okay? You sound pretty bad. Maybe we should call your mom…"

"No!" Logan said, a bit too loudly. He started coughing again. Carlos pounded on his back.

"Ssh, you'll wake my mom again. But come on, why can't you just tell your parents you're sick?"

"Because, they don't _care_," Logan said bitterly. Carlos watched Logan's fever-flushed cheeks screw up into the most crestfallen look he'd ever seen, and in that moment he knew something else was wrong with his buddy, something more than just a cold.

"Logie…"

Logan shook his head and lied on his side, facing away from Carlos.

"They can't be that mad at you, buddy. Especially if you're sick," Carlos said sweetly, rubbing his fingertips along Logan's spine. The sick boy closed his eyes and concentrated on Carlos' touch, trying not to tear up. His parents would definitely be angry with him. They did not take well to their only son disobeying, and lately they had been taking all of their anger and frustrations out on him. He didn't want to deal with that right now. He just wanted to sleep next to his best friend and forget about how awful he felt.

"Logie? Are you asleep?"

"Yes," Logan said drowsily.

"Oh… Okay," Carlos said. Logan felt the weight on the bed shift a bit as Carlos scooted closer to him and wrapped an arm around his aching middle. It soothed Logan's tummyache a bit, to have Carlos' warm hand resting right on the center of his belly where it hurt the most.

A couple of hours later, Carlos awoke to something shivering and moaning in his arms. He blinked wearily and opened his eyes to see a very pale Logan curled into his chest, facing him. His breaths sounded short and heavy with congestion and sweat poured off his snow-white forehead.

"Logan? What's the matter?" Carlos asked, immediately alarmed when he saw that mixed with the cold sweat was actual tears pouring form Logan's sleeping eyes. He tried to pry Logan off of him so he could check up on him, but the sick boy had glued himself to his chest, holding onto him for dear life.

"Mama… Daddy, no," Logan whimpered.

"Logan, please wake up buddy," Carlos said, shaking his small friend. He wondered why he was having a nightmare about his own parents…

Finally, Logan woke up from his bad dream with a gasp. His feverish brown eyes flickered with fright and confusion. Carlos was quick to comfort, running a hand down his burning cheek and wiping the tears and sweat away.

Logan let out a painful cough, followed by a sob, his tiny chest heaving. Carlos was extremely concerned now. This was very weird behavior for his best friend.

"Logan?"

"Carlos… I don't feel so good," Logan admitted.

"You're burning up," Carlos said, feeling his forehead with gentle knuckles. "You were having a nightmare, but I think you're really sick, too."

Logan sniffled and whimpered, trying to shake away the images of his dream. He wished more than anything he could tell Carlos what he dreamt about. It was so scary, his parents had turned into evil, barely-human creatures that only resembled his real mom and dad. They had changed, and it left him feeling cold and sick inside.

"I-I don't know what to do, Logan. You need my mom, she can make it better…"

"No, Carlos!" Logan said, his weak, sweaty fingers clasping around Carlos', trying desperately to stop him.

"You have a fever, Logan." Carlos easily slipped his hand away and stumbled out of bed. He stopped at the doorway to turn back to Logan and tell him he would be right back with help, but Logan was already at the window with his clothes bunched in his arms, opening the latch.

"No, Logie!" Carlos said. Logan didn't even bother looking back. He threw open the window and crawled right through, jumping off the terrace into the freshly fallen snow.

Carlos sprinted to the window and stuck his head out, searching the dark yard for his friend, but he had already disappeared in the darkness.

**A/N Oooh… DRAMA. Wait, does this constitute as a dramatic cliffhanger? I think it does. But I'm just a dramatic person. **

**If you aren't terribly busy, cuz I do know how that goes, please review and make me HAPPY. Oh ps I got my tragus pierced this weekend and omg it's the prettiest thing ever. It was the most painful experience of my life but it was worth it cuz I didn't even know how much I could love a piercing. Now I'm addicted to piercings and I have my next three piercings planned out 0_0 **


	5. Worried

**A/N Ok so I have really been wanting to finish up some stories of mine and this is closest to being finished so I thought I would start updating it again. And I miss this story. So, enjoy?**

Several minutes went by before Carlos realized Logan was not going to come back. The frigid Minnesota wind was starting to make him shiver, so he sadly closed the window (but left it unlatched, just in case Logan did change his mind and come back) and sat on his bed, face in his hands. He was confused and worried. Logan never once acted like this. Out of all the guys, Logan was always the least dramatic. Kendall had a lot of family problems, James was just a dramatic personality, and Carlos was always getting himself hurt. But Logan was kind of like the glue that held them together, always quiet and minding his own business and taking things how they came. And now suddenly he was falling apart at the seams, with no explanation at all. One thing Carlos did know was that he could not figure out what was wrong with Logan by himself. He needed James and Kendall's help. He'd feel guilty for betraying Logan, but he couldn't just let his friend suffer without the help he deserved.

The rest of the night went by slowly. Carlos stayed up until dawn, staring at the black window pane, waiting for Logan. Normally Carlos would sleep in on Saturdays, but this time he was up as early as he would be if he had school. He dressed in a warm sweatshirt and a pair of jeans before heading downstairs, not bothering to brush his teeth or comb his hair.

"Hi mami," he greeted sadly as he traipsed into the kitchen.

"Hi sweetie, you're awake early," Mrs. Garcia said, genuinely surprised. She watched as her son went through the motions of making a bowl of cereal, but he didn't eat any of it, he just mushed it up with his spoon and stared at his food forlornly.

"Carlitos, you're thoughtful this morning. Everything all right?"

"Yes mami," Carlos said softly. He spooned some of his colorful cereal into his mouth and chewed, realizing he was probably making his mother worry.

"You sounded like you had a bit of a rough night, hmm?"

"I just had some nightmares," Carlos said quickly, staring down at the table. He could feel his cheeks heating up with guilt. He knew in the pit of his stomach he should tell his mom about Logan, but he couldn't do that to his friend.

"Are you sure that's all? Nothing else you want to tell me?"

Carlos paused his chewing, his heart sinking. She was on to him. He wondered how much she knew.

"No everything is fine," Carlos said, giving her a small smile. She didn't smile back.

"Honey I found Logan's shoes in the foyer this morning. Is he here?"

"What? No, he's grounded mami. H-He left his shoes at the rink hockey practice. I put them in my bag and totally forgot to bring them over to him. In fact, I better do that now!" Carlos flung his cereal bowl into the sink and rushed to the foyer to grab his bag and Logan's shoes, cursing silently. How could they have been so stupid as to leave Logan's shoes lying right in the middle of the hall where his mom could find them? They were terrible at being sneaky!

"Honey, it's not even 8 AM yet I doubt anybody is awake," Mrs. Garcia said, following her son out of the kitchen. "You don't even have hockey practice until noon."

"I know but I promised Logan I would return his shoes first thing this morning. I'll see you tonight, for the big game, okay? You and papi will be there, right?"

"Oh honey, you know I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Mrs. Garcia said, gathering her baby in her arms. "I can't wait to see you there."

Carlos leaned into his mother and wrapped his arms around her waist, a sad thought dawning on him. "Mami, Logan's parents won't be there for the game. They're both out of town," he mumbled.

"Poor Logan," Mrs. Garcia said softly, rubbing Carlos' back. "He must be upset. Well, he has you and Kendall and James, and all of the rest of us. I know I'll be cheering for him, along with Mrs. Knight and Mrs. Diamond. I'm sure he's okay about it."

"I hope so," Carlos said. He wondered if Logan's moodiness was just because of the game tonight, or if it was something even more than that.

"Okay, go on. Practice hard today, and play fair tonight! No fighting! Listen to coach!"

"Yes mami!" Carlos called as he flung his backpack over his shoulder and ran out the door. He decided to go to Logan's place first, just to check on him. If he was still as stubborn as he was last night, then he would go to James and Kendall's and tell them about Logan's behavior.

Of course, Logan's house was dark and locked up, but Carlos knew where his spare key was kept. He lifted a fake rock in his garden, removed the key, and opened the front door.

Carlos shivered. It wasn't much warmer in the house then it was outside.

"Logan?" He called, shutting the door behind him. The first thing he did was go to the thermostat and turn up the heat. A cold front had blew in during the night, causing the thermostat to only read 62 degrees. Carlos' mami would never let the house get that cold.

"Logan, are you awake?" Carlos called, running up the steps two at a time. As soon as he reached the hallway he could hear soft snores coming Logan's bedroom. He quietly padded down the carpeting and creaked open Logan's door. The brunet was buried beneath his blue plaid comforter, with only his pale face poking out from underneath. Despite the cold temperature, there was a light sheen of sweat gathered on his forehead, and his breaths between snores came in squeaky sounding wheezes.

"Logie?" Carlos whispered, tiptoeing to his sick friend. He carefully reached out a hand and placed it on his forehead. He was burning with fever.

Suddenly, Logan jumped awake, sitting straight up. He whimpered out, sensing that somebody was in his room with him.

"Mom?" He asked groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"No, it's me," Carlos said. He studied Logan worriedly. "D-do you want me to call your mommy, Logan? You look awful."

Logan groaned. If he had the strength to roll his eyes, he would. Instead, he flopped back onto the pillows and closed his eyes. "No, I'm fine. Carlos what are you doing here it's too early. We don't have practice for 4 more hours."

"Um, I don't think you should go to practice tonight, dude. You look kind of gross."

Logan coughed into his hand with such a force that it sounded more like retching. Carlos wrinkled his nose.

"You sound gross too."

"Litos leave me alone so I can sleep. We have a huge game tonight. Let me sleep this stupid cold off."

Carlos looked at him skeptically. "Come on man, you know I'm not stupid enough to believe that. You're really sick. I don't think this is going to go away."

Logan pouted into his pillow. He coughed again, sucking in a wheezy breath to try and fill his lungs with much needed oxygen. Stupid bronchitis.

"I've had worse, Carlos. Look, if you really want to help, maybe you can bring me some medicine? I haven't stocked up for flu season, but bring whatever you can find from my bathroom."

"Should I bring some water too? And food? My mom always makes me eat and drink whenever I'm sick."

Logan's tummy went queasy at the thought of eating. "No food, but water yes."

Carlos nodded and turned to complete his mission, feeling like a superhero for sick people. He was actually excited to be able to take care of a friend. But Logan grabbed his wrist with a clammy hand, looking up at him with dull, feverish brown eyes.

"'Litos, you have to promise me you won't tell Kendall or James or ANYBODY that I'm sick, okay? It's very important that I play this game tonight. It's our secret, and you're my helper to get me better in time for the game. Ok buddy?"

Carlos winced. He was always a sucker for anybody who called him "buddy." Plus, who could deny Logan's pleading puppy dog eyes? They were almost painful to look at.

"Alright but if you're not getting better by game time I'm telling somebody."

"Deal," Logan said. He would just have to fake feeling well, and he had all morning to double up on cold medicine to help him. He could pull this off… Maybe.

Carlos left to search for Logan's medicine. He loaded up what he could find in the medicine cabinet. He couldn't understand what any of the labels said. Then he grabbed a water bottle and headed back to Logan's room.

"Here bro, will this help?" Carlos asked, dumping the medicine on his lap. Logan searched through the small pile, only to find anything _but_ cold medicine.

"Carlos! I can't take any of this stuff!" Logan cried, holding up a box of Midol. "You do realize this is for woman cramps, right?"

Carlos looked like he was about to barf. "Ugh, why do you even have that?"

"It's my moms, genius!" Logan said. "Pepto bismol, sleeping aids… Carlos this stuff won't help me. I'm just going to run to the store really quick."

"No! You need to rest!" Carlos said, pushing his palm against Logan's chest to get him to lie down. "You stay in bed and tell me what you need. I'll go get it for you. My mom has every medicine under the sun because I always get sick."

Logan sighed and wrote down what he needed. "Extra strength cough syrup, whatever you can find to clear up my congestion. And ibuprofen _only. _It's the only thing that will bring down my fever and make my achy's go away."

Carlos frowned. "You're achy, too? Maybe I should take your temperature. Whenever I have a fever I hurt all over."

"Do you even know how to read a thermometer?" Logan asked, sounding a little mean. He immediately felt bad. Carlos was only trying to help, and he was busting his butt at it too.

Carlos stared at the floor and shrugged. "I can figure it out, Logie. I'll be right back. Don't leave, okay?"

"Okay, Carlos," Logan said, burrowing back under his covers.

"Promise?"

"Yes Carlos, I promise. Just hurry up. I'm really starting to feel bad…" Logan curled up and rested his burning cheek against the cool side of his pillow. Carlos gave him one last sympathetic look. Logan was really counting on him right now, for the first time since… Well, ever. He jogged back to his house and snuck in to search his mother's bathroom cabinet. He found a bottle of ibuprofen pills, and a bottle of cough syrup for decongestant and suppressant, just like Logan had written down. Then, he grabbed a thermometer, some chest rub, and multi-vitamins and shoved them in his backpack.

"Honey, what are you doing in the medicine cabinet?"

Carlos nearly jumped out of his skin, throwing the bottle of vitamins to the floor by accident. He looked at his mother like a dear caught in headlights.

"Ummm…." Carlos struggled to think quick while his mother stared at him expectantly. "I uh… Logan, he ran out of stuffs for his first aid kit and asked me to grab some stuff before practice! You know how he is. Um, do we have any band-aids?"

Mrs. Garcia sighed. "Top shelf behind the anti-bacterial spray. What do vitamins have to do with first aid, though?"

"Logan wants us to be on the top of our game!" Carlos said, shoving the vitamins and band-aids into his bag. "I gotta go mom. Love ya!" Carlos leaned over to kiss his mother's cheek and sprinted out of the house.

By the time Carlos arrived in Logan's bedroom, he was completely winded. He had to catch his breath before dumping the contents of his bag on Logan's bed.

"Logie, wake up, I got you some stuff," Carlos said, shaking his friend awake.

Logan moaned. "Do you have my medicine?" He asked, almost desperately. His chest and throat was really hurting right now and his fever was making him miserable.

"Yep, lots of it! Open up for the choo-choo train, Logie!" Before Logan even had time to react, he had a heaping tablespoon of cough medicine shoved down his throat. He coughed and sputtered at the sickeningly sweet taste and swallowed hard.

"Ugh, warn a person, Carlos," Logan whined. He picked up the products Carlos brought and smiled proudly. "Vapor rub and vitamins? Good thinking, 'Los. Thank you, buddy."

"No problem," Carlos said. "Arms up, you need that sticky wet shirt off."

Logan blushed shyly. "W-why?"

"To put the rub on! My mom rubs some on my chest every time I'm sick. Come on." Carlos pulled Logan's shirt off and rubbed the slimy mixture onto his chest. Logan couldn't help but admit to himself that the massage felt good and the vapors immediately made his congestion looser.

Carlos dressed Logan in another warm shirt and brought out the thermometer.

"Is that really necessary?" Logan asked. He didn't know why he dreaded getting his temperature taken. But doctors never make the best patients, do they?

"Yep! Open up."

"Carlos, I'm a doctor. Almost. I can tell my fever is no more than one hundred point five. I'm fine."

"We'll let the thermometer do the talking," Carlos said, popping the little device into Logan's mouth. The brunet scowled unhappily and waited until it beeped. Carlos read the digital numbers out loud.

"It says your fever is one hundred and two point three. I think that's a little bit more than one hundred, don't you?"

Logan scratched his neck sheepishly. Maybe he was a little worse off than he thought. "Well, no worries. I'll just take my fever medicine and be good as new in a few hours."

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Logan, I don't get this. Whenever me or James or Kendall are sick you put us on lockdown. But now you're really, _really_ sick and you're acting like it's no big deal! Please, let me call your mom or dad before it gets any worse. You need your parents."

"No!" Logan shouted, grabbing Carlos' arm. The sudden shouting and movement made him start coughing violently again. Carlos gasped and sat beside his friend, patting his back through the painful ordeal. Logan groaned in misery and rubbed his throat.

"See?" Carlos said, begging Logan to realize that he needed more help than he could give him. "I know you don't feel good and I know you want your mom. Please?"

"No, Carlos, you don't understand. I'm almost an adult. I can take care of myself and make my own decisions. Please don't tell my parents. All I want to do is play the hockey game. Besides, mom is on a work trip. She's all the way in Wisconsin."

"Oh. Well what about your dad? Is he far away?"

"I-I don't know," Logan said. Carlos raised his eyebrows, confused.

"Well where did he go, Logie?"

"I-I just want to sleep now, Carlos," Logan said quickly. Carlos frowned and handed Logan a pain pill and vitamin.

"Okay, you need your sleep. I'll stay here with you until it's time to go."

"You don't have to do that, Carlos," Logan said after swallowing the rest of his medicine.

"I'm not going to leave you here feeling this sick, dude. I can't do that. Now lie down." Carlos began to tuck Logan in when the phone rang. Carlos picked it up and looked at the caller I.D.

"It's your mom," he read, handing Logan the phone. Logan took it in his hands and stared at it for a moment before setting it on the table beside him.

"You're not going to answer your phone? Wouldn't your mom get worried?" Carlos asked with surprise.

"She doesn't care," Logan said dully. He pulled his covers to his shoulders and closed his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean? Logan?" Carlos nudged him, but the sick boy refused to answer, and he could have sworn he saw a single tear slip past his closed eyes and trial down his pale cheek.

**A/N Thanks so much for reading! Next chap will be up soon, it's all planned out! Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoyed the chapter! Love you guys! **


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